1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of wagering card games and more particularly in the games of Blackjack and Poker as played in a casino with the house dealer, multiple players and established rules for playing and betting.
2. Description of Related Art
Poker and Blackjack are two well known card games played by two or more persons, sometimes casually for fun and often for serious wagering and entertainment in a casino where there are standard card tables, seating arrangements, house dealers and house rules, security and protocols.
The standard games of Blackjack and Poker as played in casinos players have their strategies and the casinos have their betting and Bonus payoffs. In Blackjack it is now standard practice to use six to eight standard 52-card decks of cards, as compared to the still standard procedure of using a single, standard 52-card deck of cards in Poker.
Over time people have developed variations in each of these games seeking to make them more interesting, exciting and/or challenging. A few attempts have been made to develop games combining features of both Poker and Blackjack. Some of the features of Poker and Blackjack variations are described in the U.S. patents summarized below.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,553 discloses Poker game in which five cards are dealt to each player and the dealer. Should the dealer not have an ace and a king or better each player wins, but if the dealer has an ace and a king or better then standard Poker hands establish the winner between each player and the dealer. Betting is coupled into each possible winning scenario.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,041 describes methods of progressive jackpot gaming in which either a live gaming table or a token accepting electro-mechanical apparatus is utilized. A cumulative jackpot is included and bettors win either all or a portion of this jackpot by having a hand containing a predetermined arrangement of cards.
Malek has developed casino games presented in related U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,265,882; 5,328,189; and 5,395,120. The ""882 game is a combination of Blackjack, draw Poker, and baccarat in which each player plays at least two of the three games against the dealer and other players. In the ""189 game Blackjack and baccarat are combined and each player can play both games against the dealer and other player. For the ""120 game, the games of modified draw Poker and Blackjack are mixed into a situation in which each player bets and plays against other players and the house dealer.
A method of playing a multiple-hand card game is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,295. The game involves multiple bettings. As each bet or wager is made a portion of the hand is dealt.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,430 relates to a progressive wagering method and game. A game wager and optional jackpot bet are made before the cards are dealt. The dealer then deals two cards to him/herself and three to each player, all face down. Wagers and jackpot bets are then decided in a stepwise manner.
A method and apparatus for playing a Poker-like game are presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,005. After wagers are made an array of seven hands, each with four cards face-up are dealt by the dealer. A variety of final betting combinations are then selected by the players and three more cards are dealt face-up. The dealer then determines the winners and losers. Option jackpot means are provided.
Wagering games are described in many publications, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,081 to which discloses a variation of the well-known game of five card stud Poker. This patent discloses a method of playing a Poker game which involves placing a multi-part wager and then being allowed to withdraw a portion of the wager. Such control over portions of the wager increases player participation and enjoyment.
Similarly, other variations in wagering structures can also increase the excitement and acceptance of such wagering games. U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,430 discloses a Poker game with an altered wagering scheme thus allowing the player the opportunity to compete for an additional prize or payout.
Further wagering games are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,861,041 and 5,087,405 (both to Jones et al.) which both disclose a progressive jackpot game. U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,553 disclose a modified five card stud Poker game.
Other variations can be made to standard games to allow more player opportunity and involvement. U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,107 discloses a game wherein additional symbols are added to increase wagering opportunities. This allows the player the opportunity to place several wagers on different portions of the game while the game is being played. Somewhat similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,757 discloses a board game wherein the player is given choices regarding alternative strategies for play. Naturally the different strategies chose have different payoff results.
Many different wagering games presently exist for use in both home and casino environments. Such games should necessarily be exciting, uncomplicated and easy to learn so as to avoid frustrating the players. Card games such as Poker and Blackjack have gained widespread popularity because of their established ranking of hands and well-known rules. Furthermore, each of these games usually involve continuous wagering opportunities for the players, thus increasing player participation and excitement. Lastly, the games move fairly quickly to maintain action and activity. All of these factors have created games which are widely accepted and widely known.
One method of increasing the excitement and attraction of wagering games is the inclusion of additional wagering opportunities and payout schemes. For example, in a progressive jackpot scheme certain outcomes are designated to pay out a progressive amount. In this progressive jackpot scheme, a portion of each wager is provided to the progressive jackpot thereby increasing the jackpot amount.
Another method of increasing excitement for the players is to provide additional winning hands or winning possibilities. This has previously been accomplished by such means as adding jokers or wild cards to Poker games. These additional winning opportunities can be accomplished by providing the player with the additional wagering opportunities or by providing additional winning combinations of cards.
Wagering games, and particularly card wagering games, typically exist in two formats: (1) table games, and (2) video games. Table games have existed for a long period of time wherein cards are dealt to the player by a single dealer and play commences from that point. Furthermore, the rules and practices for table games are well understood and easy to follow. As previously mentioned, this makes the wagering game more attractive and well accepted.
Video wagering games have also increased in popularity due to their ease of play. These games are set up to mimic a table game using adaptions of table games rules and cards. Video games are also attractive to both players and gaming establishments because they can be played without the need for a dealer. This provides the players with the opportunity to play the video game in a somewhat isolated environment. Furthermore, the use of a video format conveniently provides many additional dealing possibilities. For example, some methods of dealing cards can be easily carried out through a video configuration, wherein such dealing would be impractical at a table game. For example, it is difficult for the dealer to shuffle and keep separate multiple decks of cards.
Gambling with card games in casino environments includes some obvious and many very subtle aspects. Of the latter, it must be realized that operating a casino is serious business including not only the physical structure of game rooms, card tables, dealers and cards, but more particularly business acumen for attracting vast numbers of players for vast numbers of days, weeks, months, etc., preferably with regularity. To a large extent, these players are having fun, and of course for some it is a business (usually unprofitable). For casinos to be continuously successful month-after-month and year-after-year, they have tried to provide the players with variations on popular old games such as Poker and Blackjack, one notable success being the game of Caribbean Poker.
Another aspect of casino operation which greatly concerns both operators and players is the time that players are actually seated and playing at the card tables. Both the casinos and the players seek maximum playing time, and often players wait in line for a considerable time behind seated players in order to have the opportunity to sit and play.
Of most significant interest is the arrangement or ritual whereby casinos encourage players to come to their respective casinos with enticements of complementary gifts, in the form of free or reduced air fare, hotel rooms, theatre tickets, meals, etc. These xe2x80x9ccompsxe2x80x9d may range in quality from moderate to ultra-first class and may have very considerable monetary and prestige value. However, for a player to consistently receive valuable xe2x80x9ccompsxe2x80x9d he/she must have extensive xe2x80x9cplayingxe2x80x9d time at the tables, and thus must first obtain a seat and then be interested enough to stay in it or obtain a seat at another table. If a player becomes bored with playing Poker, for example, and elects to continue gambling at Blackjack, he will have to abandon his seat at the Poker table and seek a seat at a Blackjack table. Such new seat might not be available for quite a while, and the result is less playing time and less xe2x80x9ccompxe2x80x9d credits from the players"" point of view and less gambling time and less profits from the casino""s point of view.
In view of the above, it is apparent that the players who feel good and are not bored will achieve more playing time and more xe2x80x9ccompxe2x80x9d credits. It has been discovered that many players are driven to change tables in order to stay interested, excited, challenged, etc. Often, players switch back and forth between Poker and Blackjack; however, it is unfeasible for the casino to arrange for Blackjack hands and Poker hands to be switched at the same table every time a player changes his/her interest.
Thus, the casinos have the challenge of how to maintain maximum and continuous interest of the players so they will want to visit the casinos often and to play continuously with little loss of attention or enthusiasm. Obviously, the casinos hope the players will bet more, leading to greater profits for the xe2x80x9chousexe2x80x9d.
In summary, it is always desired to find a game that is easy to play and also fast moving. When the player is provided with a considerable amount of participation and additional and greater winning possibilities based on new card combinations, these games become much more attractive and enjoyable.
This new card game provides pleasure, challenge, and excitement to players and observers and provides casino operators with a new wagering card game variation which will make the players/patrons happier and more eager to play and bet more, and correspondingly make the casinos more competitive with other casinos not having the new game and more profitable.
One object of the new game is merely to provide a new wagering card game. More particularly, it is an object of this invention to provide a variation of Poker and a variation of Blackjack, because both are long proven highly popular with the patrons and highly profitable games for the casinos.
Pojack is for players who want the excitement and entertainment of this new game which combines selected elements of Blackjack and Poker. The Pojack playing table and cards permit playing standard Blackjack; however, players who want to play only Blackjack would probably go to a standard Blackjack table, and players who want to play only Poker would probably go to a standard Poker table. Thus, the new game will be described as it would be played where at least one player at the table or all the players wish to play Pojack.
In the new Pojack game the dealer uses a card shoe containing six to eight standard fifty-two card decks as typically shuffled to play Blackjack.
To begin Pojack, each player indicates his/her election to play only Blackjack or to play only Poker or to play Pojack. Such election is done by each player placing a Poker ante bet or a Blackjack bet or both in the betting area situated in front of him/her. This Blackjack phase of Pojack is played according to standard Blackjack rules except as described below. Two cards are dealt face up to every player, and then additional cards are dealt face up only to the Blackjack players to completion of their hands; however, before the dealer turns up his hole card, each Blackjack player who has placed a Poker bet and now knows how his Blackjack hand will look as a Poker hand, must make a Poker raise bet or be barred from the Poker phase of that hand. Also, now each Poker only player, who now has two cards must make his raise bet or be barred from playing out the Poker phase of the hand. The dealer then turns up his hole card and completes the Blackjack phase with appropriate payouts and collections to only the Blackjack players.
Now the Poker phase begins. The eligible players for this Poker phase are the Blackjack players who did make a Poker raise bet at the required time, and players who elected to play only Poker from the beginning of the hand. The dealer deals cards to those players whose Blackjack hands contained fewer than five cards until each player has five cards. Where a player""s Blackjack hand had greater than five cards or where the hand had been split, special rules have been developed as described in detail in other sections below.
For those players who elected to play only Poker, their ante bets were placed at the beginning of the hand and their raise bets were placed at the same time as that of the Blackjack players.
This game of Pojack has significant differences from standard Blackjack and standard Poker. The result is a new game that is highly desired by players for its excitement, challenge and greater betting and winning possibilities and is highly desired by casinos for its ability to attract more players and to provide an incentive to them to play longer and bet more, leading to greater profits for the casino.
Other aspects of Pojack which make it highly attractive to casinos for financial and promotional reasons include:
(a) It requires no new paraphanelia except a felt table cover with Pojack graphics.
(b) It is easy to set up and play with a standard Blackjack card shoe filled with six to eight 52-card decks.
(c) It is easy for the dealer and the players to learn and easy for the dealer to deal.
(d) It is more fast moving and more exciting and challenging than Blackjack or Poker alone because of the continuously changing parameters, particularly where each player has to assess the significance of each additional card as it may impact on his Blackjack hand and on his Poker hand, and where such card may cause good results in one hand and bad results in the other hand.
(e) It offers vastly more possible card combinations and higher payout possibilities. As is well known, Poker is traditionally played with a single 52-card deck with only those 52 cards distributed among the players, the deck including only 4 aces, 4 twos, etc. In using eight decks there are obviously 32 aces, 32 twos, 32 threes, etc., and any single hand of five cards could contain 5 aces, 5 twos, etc. Pojack accommodates that possibility by providing a payout of 50-1 for five of a kind (mixed suit) and 500-1 for five of a kind (same suit). Also, there are new and higher Bonus payouts of $250 for five of a kind mixed suit and $1000 for five of a kind same suit.
Pojack requires constant alertness and awareness of new strategies, since an excellent hand in Blackjack may be predictive of a mediocre to poor hand in Poker or vice versa. Each Pojack player commits to playing both Blackjack and Poker with his/her initial Blackjack and Poker ante bets. Each Pojack player may later elect to not place the Poker raise bet and thus sacrifice his/her Poker ante bet, if his Blackjack hand does not look promising for a good Poker hand.
The Poker phase of Pojack has some similarities to the known game of Caribbean Stud Poker; however, Pojack in its overall concept is totally different in that a Blackjack hand becomes the foundation of the Poker hand and in that the six to eight or other multiple decks in the card shoe provide vastly greater mathematical odds to obtain desired combinations than normally available from a single 52-card deck.